Mayor in Texas: 'Like a nuclear bomb'

Texas fertilizer plant explodes – Forensic mappers work the crater at the site of a fire and explosion in West, Texas, on April 24, 2013. The West Fertilizer Co. plant in the small Texas town exploded days earlier on April 17, killing 15 people.

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Texas fertilizer plant explodes – Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives search the bank of rail tracks for evidence at the site of the explosion.

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Texas fertilizer plant explodes – Search and rescue workers comb through what remains of a 50-unit apartment building, in foreground, and a nursing home on April 18, 2013.

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Woman's houses destroyed, dog killed

About 2 minutes of seismograph shows a first burst during the explosion and a second burst from the sound wave.

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Residents packed the Church of the Assumption in West on Thursday night to remember those who died and to pray for the survivors.

Glenn Robinson, the head of Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco where many victims were taken, said 29 patients were still hospitalized, including five that were in the intensive care unit.

The area around the site of the massive explosion at a fertilizer plant that flattened much of the small Texas town remains "very volatile" due to the presence of ammonium nitrate, McLennan County Chief Deputy Sheriff Matt Cawthon said Thursday.

Authorities searched through mounds of rubble in hopes of finding survivors of the blast that left shattered homes and wreckage in a wide swath of the town, which has only 2,800 people.

"It's overwhelming to us," said Smith. As he spoke to CNN affiliate KCEN, blood was spattered on his face from injuries he suffered.

"It was like a nuclear bomb went off," said Mayor Tommy Muska.

Muska told CNN on Thursday afternoon that emergency officials were still combing through a nearby nursing home, apartment complex and the plant looking for survivors.

About half the town was evacuated, including the nursing home with 133 residents.

Three schools also are near the plant. Classes weren't in session when the explosion happened Wednesday night.

'Roof came in on me'

The explosion tore through the roof of West Fertilizer Co., charring much of the structure and sending massive flames into the air, followed by a plume of smoke bigger than the plant itself. A deafening boom echoed for miles.

It was "massive -- just like Iraq, just like the Murrah (Federal) Building in Oklahoma City," said D.L. Wilson of the Texas public safety department, referring to a bombing that took place 18 years ago Friday.

The blast stripped the apartment complex, with 50 units, of its walls and windows. "It was just a skeleton standing up," Wilson said.

"The windows came in on me, the roof came in on me, the ceiling came," Smith said.

Between 50 and 60 homes in a five-block area sustained damage, officials said.

Pastor Lester Adams said he met with a family that was shattered by the explosion. The mother had part of her ankle missing and her feet were crushed, he said. Her daughter had cuts and her son had to get six "staples" in the back of his head.

"They went to check and see what was going on. They went out in front yard and (the) blast came from the back," he told CNN affiliate WOAI. "If they'd stayed in the house they would have probably been killed because their house collapsed."

Brad Smith lives 50 miles away and felt his house shake.

"We didn't know exactly what it was," he said. "The forecast said a line of thunderstorms was going to come through. My wife and I looked up and wondered, 'Did it get here six hours early?' "

Cause unknown

As of Thursday afternoon, authorities had not determined what led to the deadly explosion. Cawthon said his sheriff's office; the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the state fire marshal's office are working "to determine the exact cause of the situation."

Swanton said earlier there were no indications of criminal activity but that wasn't being ruled out yet.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told reporters "it's way premature" to determine whether any criminal charges could be sought in relation to the deadly explosion.

A U.S. intelligence official told CNN there is no indication so far that the blast is related to terrorism.

While state authorities are leading the investigation, the federal government is assisting.

Chemical concerns

With help from heavy rains early Thursday, firefighters managed to quell most of the flames in the area, authorities said.

The rain and heavy winds also helped dissipate chemicals that may have been released.

Swanton emphasized that there was no cause for alarm about the air. There was no "chemical escape" that is "out of control," he said.

Anhydrous ammonia, a gas used in making fertilizer, can cause severe burns if it combines with water in the body. Exposure to high concentrations can lead to death.

The West Fertilizer Co. said it had 54,000 pounds of the chemical, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Separately, the plant had informed the Environmental Protection Agency that it presented no risk of fire or explosion, according to The Dallas Morning News. It did so in 2011 in an emergency planning report required of facilities that use toxic or hazardous chemicals.

The plant's report to the EPA said even a worst-case scenario wouldn't be that dire: There would be a 10-minute release of ammonia gas that wouldn't kill or injure anyone, the newspaper reported.